Detroit's Fox Theatre turns into a boxing arena again on August 29, when heavyweight contender Brandon Moore faces former world title challenger Bryant Jennings in a main event that anchors a stacked card of Michigan talent. The night also marks the professional Detroit debuts of two undefeated prospects, Julius “JuJu” Ballo and Jonny Mansour, who carry deep roots in Metro Detroit's Chaldean community into the ring.
The event is promoted by Salita Promotions, Wynn Records, and G2G Promotions, and will stream live on the Wynn Records Network starting at 7 p.m., according to ClickOnDetroit | WDIV Local 4. Salita Promotions president Dmitriy Salita said Detroit is a hub for world-class professional boxing, a claim that lines up with the promotion's broader strategy of using its “Big Time Boxing USA” series to build recurring fight cards in the city, a push Hoodline first covered when the series launched at Wayne State Fieldhouse in early 2024.
A Cross-Generational Heavyweight Clash
Moore enters the bout riding a five-fight winning streak since his lone career loss to Richard Torrez Jr., and he previously headlined at the same Fox Theatre in September 2025, taking a 10-round unanimous decision over then-undefeated DeAndre Savage, according to Fight Freaks Unite. Jennings, a 41-year-old Philadelphia native with a 27-4 record, brings genuine world-title pedigree to the matchup, having gone the full 12 rounds with Wladimir Klitschko for the unified heavyweight championship at Madison Square Garden back in April 2015. Whether Jennings' late-career experience can hold up against Moore's younger momentum remains an open question heading into fight night, per the same outlet's preview.
The heavyweight theme continues further down the card, where Flint native Sardius Simmons, undefeated at 8-0 with four knockouts, faces Detrailous “Teddy” Webster, a 9-5 fighter out of Courtland, Mississippi, in an eight-round bout. Simmons has been unusually active, fighting nine times in 13 months since turning professional, including a second-round knockout of Walter Burns on June 14. He is also a two-time National Golden Gloves champion.
Chaldean Prospects Make Their Hometown Debut
Metro Detroit is home to an estimated 187,000 Chaldean Americans, the largest such population anywhere outside Iraq, according to the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce. That backdrop gives extra weight to the Detroit debuts of Ballo and Mansour, both of whom remain undefeated as professionals and proudly represent their heritage. Ballo, a 23-year-old super featherweight known as “JuJu,” won gold at the 2021 Junior Pan American Games and three USA Boxing national championships as an amateur, and has built a social media following of nearly 1.3 million across TikTok and Instagram, per 313 Presents.
Mansour, a lightweight prospect, was ranked the No. 1 amateur lightweight in the country and won two National Golden Gloves titles. He previously trained alongside world champions Ryan Garcia, Manny Pacquiao, and David Benavidez, the same event listing notes, giving him an unusually polished pedigree for a professional debut in his hometown.
A Deep Undercard of Michigan and Out-of-State Talent
Welterweight prospect Husam Al Mashhadi, a Dearborn Heights resident sitting at 15-1 with 12 knockouts and winner of seven of his last nine by knockout, returns to the ring against Seantorious Martin, a 12-1 fighter out of Atlanta, in an eight-round bout. Lance Smith, who is 7-0 with five knockouts and graduated from Wayne State University with a sports management degree this past May, faces Marlin Sims of Gibbonton, Florida, in a six-round super lightweight fight. Smith's most recent win came June 14 in Grand Rapids, a unanimous decision over Jovanis Rodriguez, who carries a 2-1-2 record.
The women's undercard features Jasmine Hampton, a 2-0 flyweight from Ann Arbor who trains at Tony Harrison's Super Bad Gym and earned a spot at U.S. Olympic Trials before ultimately missing the team. Hampton faces Gloria Munguilla, an 8-3 fighter from Los Angeles, in an eight-round bout; Hampton's scheduled June 14 fight had been canceled after her opponent missed a flight. Also on the card, Shelby Township's Savannah Tini, undefeated at 7-0 with two knockouts, competes in an eight-round women's super lightweight bout.
Rounding out the undercard, Richard Fernandez Jr., a 5-0 fighter who won seven national titles with Team USA before turning professional in 2024, faces Joshua Moreno of Norcross, Georgia, in a six-round bantamweight bout. Caleb Tirado, who began boxing at age 9 and has won 12 Puerto Rico national championships along with the 2023 Continental Championship, returns in a six-round bantamweight fight after a unanimous-decision win over Osmar Rodriguez; he enters at 2-0. Sai Maldonado of Green Bay, also 2-0, rounds out the card in a four-round lightweight match.
Detroit's Boxing Revival Continues
The Fox Theatre itself adds historical weight to the night. Opened in 1928 and designed by architect C. Howard Crane, the 5,174-seat venue was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989, according to 313 Presents. This card also arrives amid a broader resurgence in Detroit boxing infrastructure, including the reopening of the historic Kronk Gym inside the renovated Brewster Wheeler Center this past December, and Salita Promotions' November 2025 signing of Flint's own Claressa Shields, the multi-division undisputed champion, to a multi-fight deal worth at least $8 million, as reported by ClickOnDetroit at the time.
Professional boxing in Michigan is licensed and regulated by the Michigan Unarmed Combat Commission within the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs under Public Act 403 of 2004, providing the official oversight framework for the August 29 card. Whether the Fox Theatre's intimate, theater-style setting can generate the same buzz as arena shows at Little Caesars Arena remains to be seen, but with a heavyweight veteran, a hot prospect, and two hometown debuts carrying cultural significance for Metro Detroit's Chaldean community, the card gives local fans plenty to watch for.
